Iowa is essentially irrelevant for the GOPe candidate and never part of any plan for Jeb Bush. The same was true in ’11/’12 for Romney who basically ignored the state rather than spend all the necessary schmooze time. (Santorum won in ’12) In recent elections Iowa has not been favorable for the establishment teams.

But for Scott Walker, Iowa is a regional necessity if he is to remain a viable candidate. Thus the latest Iowa poll displays a troubling reality.

In July Walker was pulling 12% in Iowa, that dropped to 8% weeks later in the Des Moines Register poll; a few days later Walker registered 7% in the Monmouth Univ. Poll; now he’s down to 3% in the latest Quinnipiac result. 12,.. 8,.. 7,.. 3,… well, you can see the problem.

Walker was expected to attend a California GOP convention next Saturday as the Keynote Speaker. According to recent reports he abruptly cancelled his plans:

[…] Walker had been scheduled to deliver the keynote at the GOP gathering next Saturday but abruptly withdrew, according to the paper.

Walker’s campaign did not respond to the paper’s request for comment. (link)

It would be reasonable to assume the Iowa polling has something to do with Walker reassessing his schedule. A recent campaign picture also paints a thousand words:

Walker has essentially been tripped up by his own national campaign message; which appears heavy on consulting advice and light on an internal compass. Understandable considering the stark difference between regional or state success, and the MUCH larger national campaign stage.

It’s easy to see how a candidate like Walker can listen too much to the professional consulting crowd – ultimately losing his self/campaign identity. Obviously the Wall Street Journal influence has buried him in messaging advice, often in conflict with common sense. Immigration is one such misstep – straddling both sides of the fence never works.

In the Top-of-the-Poll Headline News: Trump continues to lead, while the media and Jeb Bush alliances urgently work to push non-vulgarian Ben Carson into the #1 spot.

They RNC/GOPe (Wall Street interests et al) need a visible and statistical result so they can drum beat the “Donald Trump has peaked and is now slipping” message. They are urgently looking for a POLL RESULT they can sell as a ‘see-toldyaso’ breaking news alert. Carson in Iowa is their best hope at creating that narrative/optic.

What’s interesting inside the poll itself, is the motive of the poll funding source. You can see the question:

Notice how it is only the absence of Trump that garners the Second Choice vote. They don’t ask the general question “who is your second choice” of all the candidates – they qualify the question by removing the Trump option for the other 16 candidates.

This method allows the poll USER to inflate the value of any non-Trump candidate by adding their primary support and secondary support together.

Why do they do this?

Well, if you leave the entire field available you get this result (CNN/ORC): A result which is bad news for anyone who wants to downplay Trump’s candidacy. As you can see, and as the Washington Post outlines, Trump is at 50% with primary and secondary support:

[…] So say what you will about Trump having a block of people who don’t want to vote for him; despite early polls showing two-thirds of Republicans didn’t like him and more than half said they would never vote for him, half of Republicans right now seem willing to vote Trump. And if my math is correct, 50 percent of the vote is more than enough to win in a 17-person field. It could even be enough in a two-person field. (link)

That’s not good when your goal is to play down Trump, and inflate Carson. Subsequently you eliminate the reality of Trump having so much support by removing him from the consideration.

The CNN/ORC poll is why the Quinnipiac Poll is worded to be absent of Trump as above.

When you are selling information to and through the media, and you want to hide the motive of your manipulation, it’s best to control the inputs. See how they roll?

Love your analysis of the poll – that’s beauty. I’m seeing more good science there than from all the climate trolls in the last 6 months.

I’m wondering if Walker’s early demise is some kind of accelerated roadmap tripwire. The Jebbusites have to get rid of all the previously competitive not-Jebs at some point, so they have to weaken them – get at least one shiv in early, like when they saddled Walker with a known RINO hack. What you say – getting Walker off his internal message and onto consultant-administered Uniparty Talking Points was sure to weaken him – but I think it just did so much faster than anticipated.

He’s losing his splitter value, but he removes one more threat to Jeb. Maybe that’s a known risk, where they win either way, even if the tripwire is hair-trigger and fires early.

All the RINO consultants must have been pointing to their Rovian Whiteboards and saying that. And then TRUMP appears over the horizon like the Death Star, and they fall on their sides and spin in circles.

You’re right. The GOP has used the Ohio/Florida or bust strategy the last 6 election cycles. What has that netted them? Two razor thin wins which could have easily gone the other way, and 4 electoral college blowouts.

One of the things a Trump candidacy would create are inroads into blue states no other republican candidate could dream of. Election night 2016 could bring us the most interesting electoral map we’ve seen in over a generation.

Trump is trying to breath life into this rotting carcass. The GOPe just needs to let him!

Here they have a candidate running away in the polls than can easily win in 16. They are doing everything they can to destroy their best candidate. Amazing stuff when the curtains is pulled back on these RINO crooks.

ahh, don’t forget Marco Rubio, who gave up his Senate seat to run for President, this reminds me of a contestant on the Price is Right, “I will trade the washer and dry in the box for whats behind the curtain” and Zoooonk, a pair of oars for his boat, as a consolation prize (everyone gets a trophy) he may get a job in the Trump administration

I feel like Walker did some good stuff for his state. It’s a bummer that a failed presidential bid seems to wipeout all the good deeds some of these men accomplished before. That’s the price of doing business, I guess.

Face it takes money to do this and you have to get it somewhere. But donning you worn out knee pads every day to the CoC makes a man look weak and paid for like a streetwalker trikin’ for cheap. GOP guys are like that but refuse to believe they have become common hos instead of the once expensive escorts they were. So like Bobby they lash out and rand and Rick in their best girly voices,,, hey it’s not fair a reality star they like more than us.. we are the true conservatives and know Bible verses… what happened. Must be the trailer trash billy bobs all woke up and the low info crowd at the CTH..(just a joke)….How could they be so dumb not to like us after all the betrayals and lies we so carefully crafted and the world class kabuki we have provided…. Yeah trump has a squirrel on his head……Rand and Bobby if your gonna name call do it right and don’t insult your base of voters. Rove Jeb and all these guys have been so pathetic and irrelevant sold out politicians for so long they can’t see that sleezy act is over and time to move on.

I considered Jebbushites, but didn’t want to risk the wrong reading. When the primary season feuding is done, I still think the Bush clan are good folks. However, while there’s still a danger of Jeb putting red, white and blue varnish on Obama’s Marxist concrete, I’ll be giving him catcalls, and waving for TRUMP CONSTRUCTION COMPANY to come on down and fix this substandard mafia crony work from the last seven years.

Ok, now perhaps it is time to manipulate public opinion to influence polls. Ask your daughters, wives, sisters, what they think life was like for IT females after Carly ruined one of the oldest and most respected tech companies, laid off thousands of good women, and was fired. How many times did we hear AGAIN, “See? Never send a girl to do a man’s job.” Has she ever apologized to us? We worked our assess off to achieve what we did. Did she? And what has she done for any woman except herself since her inglorious firing? Make them give you an answer. You take it from there. And point out who now runs Trump, Inc.
Sorry for the early rant; I hate hypocrisy.

I concur completely with your analysis. The only thing Carson has going for himself is that he’s not Trump, so all the Trump haters can swing to him. That’s OK because Carson won’t have a chance in Iowa or post-Iowa. Also, you’re right about the other stiffs being done for. The only movement is to Carson, the anti-Trump, not to any of them. Good work doodahdaze.

All a Trump has to say to Carson in the debate is: “Dr. Carson only wants people in rural areas to be able to own a gun. I support 2nd Amendment rights throughout the whole country.” That should about finish Carson’s candidacy.

Let Carson twist in the wind for a week after that trying to clarify that he only meant to forbid semi-automatic weapons from city dwellers.

Carson sometimes speaks out before doing his research and getting facts.

He is better on BLM.

Still, on the gun control issue, Carson is wrong – store owners, homeowners, folks pumping gas in cities need guns for defense and protection. There are more dangerous wolves and vipers in cities than in the country.

OK, sorry to offend the Carson fans, but I now think he’s a dope unworthy of high public office. Surgeon General, fine.

regarding the death of Freddie Gray:

1:36 A situation like the one that sparked this trouble, obviously there’s a cloud of suspicion there. And it will be investigated. You’re not going to be able to sweep this under the rug.

What’s the cloud of suspicion? Heroin addict fakes injury when being led to the van, then bashes his head into the van wall in hopes of getting a big injury payout from the city. Perhaps if Carson had been an ER doc in Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, or any other city where Freddie Gray’s flourish, he would have a different opinion. Or maybe not.

regarding race relations:

3:02 I don’t see any evidence of improvement quite frankly. And I don’t want to get into a thing of blaming Obama or anybody else. I want to say that we Americans have a history of being compassionate, and of being caring, and let us reignite that spirit and start thinking about what we can do and not necessarily ascribing blame to anyone.

Her refuses to blame Obama. Obama, who made public statements supporting the BGI viewpoint, who said white police officers “behaved stupidly” when they stopped someone from breaking into a house, who said Traythug could have been his son, who invited Traythug’s parents to the White House, who chose a BGI leader to be AG, etc etc etc.

regarding “overly-aggressive police, militarized police, police who don’t have a connection with some of those they serve in the community”

3:59 It is a problem there’s no question that there’s a problem. We need to look at model communities where things have worked better. If we create a situation where the first encounters of young men are not with hostile police but with people that they know, you’re going to create a completely different dynamic.

Why would the first encounters be hostile? Maybe because these young men don’t know how to behave respectfully? Maybe because so much violent or criminal activity is going on in their homes the police are aggressive to protect their own lives as well as the lives of the victims? Shame on Carson for not placing blame where it belongs.

Carson impressed me when he spoke at my son’s college graduation in 2003, but his recent “correction” of BLM’s “black lives matter” to “ALL black lives matter” destroyed any connection that I might have felt with him.

ALL LIVES MATTER, Doctor Carson. As a physician and decent human being I’m sure that you know and believe that. But your cowardice to correctly state it has removed you from consideration for public office.

When a known thug in your neighborhood has killed a handful of young women and many more elsewhere, and isn’t held fully accountable by “authoriities”, then you’ll know. Thug lives matter only as a huge negative value, sooner is better.

Isn’t he a 7th day Adventist Christian. Are they the guys who knock on your door with the Watchtower…..Does he take Benedryl before speaking. Too boring for me but he seems like a good and accomplished man. Hope they use him and they throw him under the bus Rove style…..

no, you are describing Jehovahs Witnesses. Seventh day people take off from labor sunset friday to sunset saturday, otherwise very much like Christians you know. Very good dietary plans and healthy living focus too.

You know what I cant understand? I cant understand Americans tolerating themselves being called lazy. I have lived and worked in Australia, SE Asia, India (not lived but worked for 5 months) England and spent time in Mexico and Canada.

Americans are some of the hardest working people in the world, with an almost unmatched can do spirit…….To say that Americans don’t want to do this job or that job because it is hard work or hot or beneath them is utter rubbish. Maybe with a free market for labor without the illegals the rate would go up a bit but that is free market.

Carson should be seriously taken apart and so should anyone else who espouses the “Lazy American” myth

When I first arrived in the US I was shocked in ‘the benefit system’ regarding American workers.
I lived in many countries throughout the world due to military reasons but have also concluded that americans are one of the hardest workforce in the world!
Working more than one job by many was unknown to me; not having all the benefits similar to Europe for example like: 30 days each year paid vacation, unlimited sick pay as long as treating physicians deemed it necessary for the person to be home and get well – were some of the biggest surprises but ending in not only admiration but also love for the American workers all together!

It irks me for politicians in their double speak about illegals doing the work americans refuse to do is appalling to me although having learned how sleazy pro-illegal immigrants behave – I am no longer surprised.
What I have also learned since then is the struggle many have providing for their families despite working two or more jobs – whatever necessary to survive.
All these are qualities that I found nowhere else in the world – rather my experience was that of ‘over cuddled’ workers having lots of freebies and still complain!

Americans on welfare for generations ARE lazy. But the rest of us, who would feel shame for using government assistance, WILL WORK two or more jobs with the pride that comes with being self sufficient.

“Of course, the protesters are right that racial policing issues exist and some rotten policemen took actions that killed innocent people. Those actions were inexcusable and they should be prosecuted to deter such acts in the future.”

As far as I know, Carson is a great guy, but that and his lack of political experience dooms him. Right now, he is a useful tool for the GOPe to split Trump voters. Once that ends, they will chew him up and spit him out, like so much used chewing tobacco.
Right now we don’t need a nice guy, we need an experienced warrior who will fight for America.
Trump2016!

yeah and i don’t understand this whole humble thing. humble people don’t go around bragging about their humility while putting others down. just because he is soft-spoken? just because he has a low energy voice I’m supposed to think he’s nice? I’m shocked at all the guys i thought were good people. carson and jindal in particular. i had no idea they could be so bitter and nasty. wow.

Jindal is frustrated. I understand that. But the crack he made was silly and childish. It would be a shame if that is what he is remembered for in ten years and it just might be. I appreciate Cruz and Walker keeping it above board. Disagree with the policies and go for it hard but keep the silly out. And watch Carson with the sound off. He is amazingly Obama-like in his “tude”.

Jindal is trying to dissect DT with some obvious bias; much of what he says is partly true, but exaggerates negatives and misses the point.
1. We are done wtth the entrenched, professional, permanently lying tools and traitors
2. Immigration is now an immediate, existential question
3. Conventional or decent, low key players have no chance.

I like Jindal a lot but he’s no Donald Trump. He thinks he can pull off the insult without any negative impact on him, just like Trump, but he’s not the Teflon Don. It just makes him look small and petty.

yes, i see Jindal and Scott as the the folks i want piloting the airplane, in the cockpit, but want Trump as the flight attendant interacting with the passengers, after a safe and successful landing, never think of the pilots, but exchange departing wishes with the flight attendant

Governor Jindal baffles me, I also thought he was “good people” and I find it hard to let go of that idea. This morning I thought of this: what if he owes the GOPe so much or they have ruinous information about him – and they told him to attack Donald Trump – so he did, but went totally overboard so as not to really damage Trump, only himself. I wonder if we have any idea how enslaved these politicians are.

I’ll throw this tought in, since no one else has:
IDENTITY POLITICS.
As with Fiorina, there’s little else there.“because…black!” = “because…woman!”
On top of Carson’s Amnesty/Citizenship for Illegals problem,
his Second Amendment position stinks.

My take on Carson’s appeal is that he is seen as not part of the hated establishment (correctly or not. I know most here see him as part of the establishment plan. I’m not arguing he isn’t, just that he isn’t perceived that way by the public), and is exactly as un-Trump-like in personality as anyone can possibly be. He is the “reasonable man’s” anti-establishment candidate. The non-party-loyalist, thinker’s choice. Supporting Carson is how you demonstrate your rebuke of the GOPe while simultaneously demonstrating your outright civilness.

And to be fair, he’s done some fantastic interviews where he comes across as thoroughly convincing in demeanor and intellect for the job so he probably has some genuine support as well.

The reality is that Carson has been propped up by the GOPe and Fox as
the “nice” guy alternative to Trump who they have depicted as the “mean” guy.
Nothing more, nothing less. It will be over soon for Carson when it finally leaks
out that he is for some form of gun control determined by the population of the
area (I know, crazy talk right?), is a Seventh Day Adventist (nothing wrong with
that probably, however, the Christian right won’t like it; they didn’t like Romney
being a moron, I mean Mormon) and on top of that he wants to give all the illegals
work permits.

Many of the people I’ve spoken with regarding Carson see him as the “nice, God fearing” outsider as opposed to Trumps “loud, vulgar” outsider. For some reason, they seem to think that Carson espouses the same stand on immigration, economics and turning America around as Trump. It’s just a matter of time or perhaps willingness before they hear Carson’s true message.

Dr James Manning and Mychal Massie, both black conservatives, have come out strongly against Ben Carson. Apparently Carson (among other things) says very nice things about the NAACP and other groups that do not stand for conservative principles. Both men are fully onboard with Trump and Cruz.

This. Carson lived in Baltimore for 30 years. He thinks the black looters and rioters were expressing justifiable frustration with police misconduct. He condemns the way they expressed their frustration, but he’s fundamentally down with the BLM basic position.

The issue with blacks in government (or elsewhere for that matter) is that
many of them see every issue through the prism of their blackness. Can’t run
a country of many ethnic groups with that attitude.

Good morning my Hoosier friend, would like to get your opinion on Congressman Marlon Stutzman, that area if Indiana is some of the most conservative, with Senator Dan Coats retiring (again) Stutzman is favored for that seat

Stutzman helped GOPe House leadership by changing his vote on the Budget Cromnibus which the Conservatives were trying to stop, he is friendly with McCarthy, yet it was Susan Brooks who got on the Benghazi select committee

Are you aware that he as an anger issue problems? On medication? He did in the past stabbed guy with a hunting knife. Attacked his mother with a hammer! The Best he is good friends with Al Sharpton if elected he would be his Vice President! He is a puppy for some wealthy men! Open borders, Common core, The best agrees with the Iran deal! Carson sounds like a liberal Democratic. Fox/ CNN should consider looking into these true facts it came out of Ben Carson’s mouth when now a born again Christian….Jim Jones the Cool-Aide guy! Hillary today meet with her pastor! Hide behind Religion…a skunk is a skunk!

As we see Europe being invaded by muslims, common sense Americans are seeing our future more clearly and are repulsed and afraid. Trump’s message provides hope that all is not lost. I loved how Walker stood up to the unions and I don’t think he is part of the vast GOP conspiracy against Trump and conservatives as Sundance tells us, but Walker is beholden to the moderate GOP money men, while Trump is not.

I just had a realization. All the “fake” support for Jeb in the early polls. His numbers HAD to have been inflated. Nobody I knew was for Jeb – NOBODY. And yet he was some kind of frontrunner before Trump. But now, I think the fakey-fake numbers are appearing for Carson. I think his numbers MUST be inflated.

I am with you in the poll rigging. But I think there is another dynamic that is playing out too. As the establishment GOP candidates become more obviously unsustainable, their supporters who are among the “I would never voter for that idiot Trump in a million years!” have to transition to someone else. That was supposed to be !Jeb getting a little more support as voters were herded and sent through chutes and gates. as their favorite son or local hero waxed and waned making !Jeb the clear second choice. It is also a psychological process of conditioning voters to what “appears” acceptable and to avoid the discomfort of cognitive dissonance. Carson is the defacto “feel good choice” for the uncomfortable. Two black progressive liberal “cool” presidents in a row? NO.

“That was supposed to be !Jeb getting a little more support as voters were herded and sent through chutes and gates.”

Spot on!
Still believe GOP/RNC is working with DNC to promote the RINO with least likely chance of winning Presidency against DNC’s chosen one.

Still waiting for Federal Bureaucracy of Injustice to declare Killary Klean and absolve her of all wrong doing. I hope I am proven wrong… that Federal Bureaucracy of Injustice has been infiltrated by Klinton Kabal of Korruption.

In an interview he did with Greta in March, pre-announcement, he said that even though he was out doing the same things all rest were, the R’s wouldn’t include him in their polling supposedly because they didn’t think he would run.

I like the idea of Donald Trump pulling the rug out from under all of them at his Texas rally by dropping a bomb on TPP, with Jeff Sessions support, and changing the whole conversation. Maybe he will reveal the contents of Obama’s side deal – something that can’t be ignored.

If Carson’s stupid compassionate action thing and AMNESTY don’t implode his numbers then I don’t know what will. We need to get this out there. Compassionate action is dumb and dumber this is my take on the article
The sad part of all this is the mentality of our pc world today and how we teach people and even our children to be victims. Good Lord stop trying to make and turn people into victims. Now a child’s parent dies and he is insinuating he will be a victim of the system and not get into Yale. He didn’t get into Yale cause the other boy was smarter. That’s awful? Maybe we should give him a trophy to make him feel better, or better yet maybe the boy could take his place at Yale by taking the spot of one of your crony politician buddies who bought and paid for their sons spot. This stuff really p😠 sses me off. This moves Carson into the front seat next to Jeb, who is driving the clown car that represents the buffonery of all rinos and the GOP establishment. Trump 2016

Carson does flash the butthurt doesn’t he? He is a very progressive social liberal in most ways. Which oftentimes accompanies someone with no clue about economics or the other extreme of a globalist. I think we are sussing out his views pretty well. He is !Jeb II.

My totally inaccurate “poll” — in which I looked at comments on “conservative” websites — tells me that certain candidates (they would be Cruz, Rubio, Jindal, Fiorina and Carson) have a single Appeal Factor for a lot of GOPe and near/GOPe types: they represent Identity Politics.

Remember Choom Boy? The guy who, with no verifiable personal history of accomplishments, education or skills, a questionable (to say the least) personal history, dodgy friends and stated beliefs that have always skewed toward hatred of the United States and its citizens, was elected President? And re-elected? How could that be? Simple! He was President Historic First, a shining beacon of national tolerance and anti-racism.

The two “Hispanics,” one East Indian and a Woman have the same shtick going for them for GOPe voters, even if slightly diluted. Perry and Walker can’t beat that.

BTW: it’s time for all the worthless hey-I’m-running-for-President! types — those polling under 10% to be consigned to the Joke Bin. None of them have anything to contribute; all they do is suck up valuable oxygen.

Indeed. Many people who don’t want to be labeled as racists speak favorably of Carson, as he is sort of the black anti-Obama…but they will not cast their vote for another black any time soon, if ever again. because of O’Blah-blah.

Yes Carson is a smart, likeable fellow…but he brings nothing to the table in the way of proven leadership/management accomplishments. Even the community organizer brought more to the table than Carson. We don’t need an eloquent brain surgeon, we need a tough, brash, successful, already-proven leader.

Most Christians would rather support a 7th Day Adventist than support a Mormon. Mittens tepid reception had more to do with him looking like something between a RINO and a communist. He was forced down our throats by the GOPe, and in November of 2012 many people sat home rather then pull the lever for a white version of the perversion. I think Conservative Christians would have a bigger problem with Trump’s lack of Christian credentials than with Carson’s, yet we are not single issue voters in that respect. We weigh carefully each candidate in all aspects of their resume before we make our choices. We each have a #1 a #2 and a #999.
Trump’s statement that he has never felt the need to seek GOD’s forgiveness is more likely to grind, but he is not facing off against Franklin Graham.

The media made much ado about Trump stating he had never felt the need to seek GODs forgiveness as I remember.
What I was attempting to say was that the issue of faith is not at the top of many people’s lists. Only 24 years ago Worthless Willie had to make a big deal about attending church. I think the madrasa in Indonesia was the last time Barry went AND listened. Last cycle we had a moron running. Their god is not the GOD of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the One who gave his Begotten Son to die on a cross for MY sins. Rather, theirs has a Jesus who is a brother to Lucifer. That kind of teaching holds Scripture in the same regard as islame which claims that the Pentateuch is part of their faith yet forbids its adherents from reading it.
Blessed is the person who hears the word of GOD and keeps it. Blessed is the nation that has leaders who revere GOD.
We have not had a truly GOD fearing man in the White House for quite some time.

I have to wonder what is worse to a Christian – someone that espouses ‘true faith, church goer, asks God for guidance’ and actually does none of those things or someone that is truthful about their relationship with God? Sometimes the play for the evangelical vote gets swarmy to me.
Me, I’ll take the truth teller every time because I figure if someone can lie about being such a Christian, they’ll lie about anything and everything if the need arises.

I think the GOPe have Carson a tough spot, he needs to be the anti-Trump but he also need to keep a bridge between no-amnesty and amnesty if there is to be any logical step from Trump to Bush after they kick Carson to the curb.

I know this probably isn’t a popular opinion here but I still like Walker. I’m hoping he can reassess where he is and get back on track. Obviously I’m pulling for Trump but in case something happens and Trump falters I’d still prefer Walker to most of the other candidates particularly Carson, Rubio, Jeb, Carly & Kasich.

He’s probably an OK guy but he signed too many GOPe consultants onto his campaign and began listening to their advice, not his own. Brad Dayspring and Mrs. George Will being two of them. Once you acquire the stench of a “loser” it’s difficult if not downright impossible to get rid of it. He’s done. I hope he finishes the job he started in Wisconsin.

Carson is off my list completely with his John McCain like comment. This summer, as a Condo President I hired many people Americans, Russian, Argentinians, Columbians, etc who were legal that were happy to earn 100 dollars a day for hard labor in the sun repairing concrete etc. If I weren’t working I’d pick tomatoes for $11 an hour as well.

Me too, Lou. Self-respecting people will always work, if they can. A friend of mine was out of work a couple of years ago, and she took a couple of jobs to make ends meet, one of which was ironing, another was waitressing. Her normal job was as an insurance clerk, making pretty good money. Another friend took a weekend waitress job when her hours were cut at her usual job.

thanks stella. I don’t think I’ve ever received a one up by you. I would feel so embarrassed to use an EBT card. I couldn’t imagine saying to a family member that I don’t work or in between jobs. I have a CDL as well, and drove OTR many years ago. I didn’t exactly agree with trucker’s lifestyles (not showering, not brushing teeth, etc.) but at least I was working. I would lose all self esteem if I didn’t work, but that’s just me. I’d gladly pick fruit or vegetables for 11 dollars an hour just to maintain some type of dignity.

It’s the way we were raised, I’m sure. When I was first separated from my husband, I moved to another state to live with my parents for a while. It took a little time to get a job, and I joked that I could always go on ADC. My dad retorted, “and I’ll kick your butt all the way around the block.”

It would never occur to me to apply for public assistance, if there were jobs to be had, not matter what. There always have been jobs to find throughout my life.

As a single (divorced) Mom, I worked 3 jobs (one full-time, 2 part-time) to support my two children, without any child support. Friends would suggest I quit two jobs and apply for assistance. My response was always concerning what kind of example would I be setting for my children.

when I was 12 years old, I was mowing every lawn on my block except 2. When I was 13, my grandfather used to frequent a bowling alley and made me clean the bowling alley for hours even though I wasn’t employed there. I was then hired and worked there for 3 years. One day my grandfather saw me sit down (when I wasn’t even employed yet), and gave me this long speech about how I was going to become a lazy bum. I was 13 at the time. LOL
that speech always stuck with me.

I mowed lawns at 10 or 11.. even the haunted house ladys . She would reach out the door and hand me the 50 cents. I never saw her. I worked the lumber yard at 14 banding wood scraps and the old drunk German carpenter would curse at me and chase me around yelling. Yep paper route and finally my big break at 16… The drive thru dairy with Mr. Miller who was a perfectionist. My mom taught me to dress well and speak clearly. I’m in my 60’s now and did quite well with no Govt help thank you.

Opposite side of the same coin, being a single father with my 3 children, took to low paying wages for production work, back in 2010 when things were pretty bad job wise. The wages paid less than what being in the system would provide, yet when the employer told me “the job only pays x.xx and hr”, I replied back with “Thank you, I need the job.” And now here it is, 5 years later…same employer I started with, but I employ a position in the technical engineering department, and am even more able to provide for my children financially. It is how you are raised. It is about your values, and priorities, self respect (all these things go back to how you are raised I think).

If I lived in an agricultural area, I may very well of been one of the ones out there picking a tomato for 10$ an hr (which would of been more than my initial salary in my production employment btw)

I grew up on a dairy farm, so I started working as a sprout. When Dad retired, I worked for several neighbors and eventually got a job working construction alongside my brother. At one point Things got really slow and I was laid off. Collected unemployment for two weeks. I was ashamed to receive it, and vowed I wold never be in that boat again. I am self employed now. I often turn up at the Home Depot at odd ie late hours to a greeting of Why am I working at That hour? To which I reply, my boss is the biggest jerk in the county.
I broke my neck a few years ago while working on an old house. I lost some motor function and feeling, cannot lift much with out consequences, and spend a lot of time in pain from it.
The idea of taking disability and doing nothing is something I cannot do. I do what I can how I can, and if it takes longer to get the job done, so be it.

“If I weren’t working I’d pick tomatoes for $11 an hour” and when that attitude infiltrates the “low energy couch potato sections of society”, it will expand naturally as people see new status symbols that change from where they are with government support to a much higher level of living overall including the potential for increasing financial positions through self support starting wherever they can. Our “safety nets” may need to be lowered/tweaked to provide more inspiration to actually produce our own $. Hunger finds no fault with moldy corn.

A Trump family legacy of providing the experience of work outside the need to work can light a fuse in that direction IMO.

Hey Ben Carson, how about the idea of making scammy welfare recipients WORK for money instead of just giving it to them for doing nothing? I’ll bet a lot of those people would work for $11/hour if they weren’t getting a free handout paid for by those of us who are working. Oh yah, he’s pissing me off now.

Once again Christie, Graham, Santorum and Pataki are at zero or the low single digits. They are all able to hang in there, but Walker is the one in trouble. If he leaves he should force their hands and say something like you are all shills for the establishment, if you have any self respect you should join me.

“In a colorful 1983 profile signaling Donald Trump’s arrival among the jet set, T&C showed how the brash 37-year-old — hitherto known as a “kid” who “only knows how to talk, not build” — orchestrated not only the deal of a lifetime, but a landmark development during New York’s darkest years.”

I heard him say in an interview that he attended the church that Dr. Peale pastored. He said that he could have sat and listened to him all day long. I think that this is where he gets his “I can do anything and do it well” attitude.

In an April 1983 New York Times profile of Trump written by the late Marylin Bender, Peale describes the tycoon as ‘‘kindly and courteous in certain business negotiations and has a profound streak of honest humility.’’

According to what I’ve read Trump’s ancestors are Protestant/Presbyterian and he did say that was his church. I wonder how much of Carson’s popularity comes from Illegals. If I understand correctly, they have telephones and even voted in the last election though they shouldn’t have been able. I may be wrong because I don’t have a TV but depend on the limit I have on the internet but its seems racial upheaval has quieted since dear old C has been climbing. That too my be a factor. He’s also got what Trump is not allow to have and that’s interviews that don’t plot to ‘shame’ him but build him up.

Yeah, it’s just too bad Trump didn’t wrap himself in that phonus-bolonus I’m-better-than-you “dignity” that Choom Boy and all Real Politicians adopt, right?

After all, we can’t have a President with a sense of humor, some actually directed at himself…. Which, by the way, puts his Terrible Sexist Attack on poor widdle Carly into perspective, at least for me.

As the word gets out that Trump is a genuine human being and not a toadying sell-out who will believe anything for a vote, Salem Communications will be hardest hit?

I find it hilarious that media rags who consider themselves NEWS go off on what is clearly an ENTERTAINMENT show. Fallon was not chosen for his journalistic skills. He has one job, to ENTERTAIN. He did that, and he did it well.

It is the NEWS shows & rags they should be attacking. They feed us what they consider entertainment, instead of NEWS, which is their one and only job. THEY are the JOKE! The Losers.

“But while she showed she was able to fire up an important and reliable base of support — Republican women — she didn’t quite close the sale with many in the audience. That’s been her problem for weeks: She’s impressive in person, but not most GOP voters’ first choice.” 🙂

Is she refusing to admit that she’s had bad plastic surgery and other procedures? Because most women don’t look like that, regardless of the age.

And frankly I’m really tired of the woman shtick. I’m not going to vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. She needs to tell me what she’s going to do to fix our biggest problems. Is she going to kick the illegals out? Build a wall? Implement a more fair income tax system? Protect police from the BGI terrorists? Get the slackers off of welfare?

I have the utmost respect for Ben Carson. He used to come speak at my professional association about 15 years ago. He is an insanely brilliant pediatric brain surgeon who pioneered more than one radical surgery to normalize the lives of children with severe, incapacitating epilepsy. Having said that, I can’t believe that he has the knowledge and life experience to run the enormous business and fiscal needs of the United States of America. More importantly, after the hot mess that Obama birthed in foreign affairs, Ben Carson doesn’t demonstrate that he has the temperment and skills to deal with the shrewd and sometimes evil, ruthless leaders that rule over those messes. That’s not his fault – he’s a truly good guy. However, he shouldn’t be the president of this great country that is in such dire need of a more than competent leader. I think that would be a winning message. At this point, I don’t think we even need to get into his ideology. There’s no comparison between what Trump brings to the table and what Carson brings, righteous guy though he is. There’s no way to beat the reality of Trump being the most competent guy in the race. Fiorini? Are you kidding? Compare the business track records.

Beyond that, the biggest problem the incoming Repubican president (God willing) is going face on the domestic front is a Federal bureaucracy packed with progressives who have burrowed in. The President is going to have to be a nasty SOB in order to gain control of the executive branch. That means hiring sons of bitches as cabinet officials who are willing and able to go in and root out all of the Obama plants that will surely try to sabotage the administration at every opportunity. Walker was my first choice, because I know that he can stand up to the unions and impose his will on his subordinates, if he wants to but I see that in Trump also and I don’t see that in any of the other candidates. They all seem to think that they will have the reins of government nicely handed to them and that isn’t going to happen. I think of Reagan firing the air traffic controllers. Could Trump do that? Absolutely. Walker? Maybe. Any of the others? No. Carson? Absolutely not.

Not a Carson fan, but I’ll cut him some slack on this. There is no good answer to the Michael Brown issue for a candidate, and I definitely wouldn’t expect anyone — not even Joe Biden — to suggest that he would have blown Brown away. There’s a lot about Carson that makes him a poor choice for the nomination — even for the GOPe — but this isn’t anything to be concerned about, IMO.

Pandering is something to concerned about. Fence straddling is also. The simple “political” answer is: “I wasn’t there and I haven’t been trained as a LEO.” He also stirred it about MB’s body not being removed for 4 hours. From the STL Post Dispatch:

Carson gave an interview to the Post-Dispatch on Friday afternoon after visiting Ferguson. When asked if he would have shot Brown if he were in Wilson’s shoes, Carson said: “It’s hard to say. I probably, knowing who he was, I probably just would have arrested him.”

Carson said he would have waited for backup before having the altercation.

A Justice Department investigation concluded that Wilson had reason to fear for his life and thus couldn’t be prosecuted for fatally shooting the unarmed 18-year-old.

Earlier in the day, Carson, appearing with Missouri Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Ferguson Mayor James Knowles, told a gathering of reporters that the real issue was how Brown’s body was treated.

“I heard more than one time how the thing that really inflamed the community was the fact that Michael Brown’s body laid out on the street for four hours,” Carson said. “I heard also that people need to learn how to respect authority.”

If you are a candidate headed to STL, you have to assume you will be asked about Ferguson, so it might help if you learn a little bit about the issue.

Particularly after exhaustive investigations and reports by local LEO, grand jury and federal investigation by FBI / DOJ. The correct answer is that Michael Brown committed multiple violent felonies and was justifiably shot in self-defense. Extra credit for adding that Dorian Johnson and “burn this bitch down” Louis head should both face criminal charges.

What Carson did in Ferguson Missouri was to declare in the affirmative that he knows how to pander to the blackness of black people whose votes he believes could be bought by such pandering. In other words, Carson proved he could “revert to form” which has become a very pointed concern for voters with regards to electing another black candidate who could likewise have a “hidden bias” that would appear in full bloom when circumstances arise for “identity politics” to be served by “black identity” which then eclipses any other unbiased world view and perspective. Obama suffers from that same “black identity” bias and the voters DO NOT want to risk electing another black man as president any time soon after having seen Obama “revert to form” of basically being a NEGRO FIRST and NOT simply being a man without regard to any ethnic identity, as should be the content of the character there for a president. What Obama has done is to royally screw up and TRASH the chances any time in the near future of ANY black man ever again becoming president, based on the RACIST legacy that has been deliberately engineered by Obama as a WITNESSED FACT of pandering to black people with RACIST “black identity” corrupt politics, which has been a de facto endorsement and practice of RACISM. Obama “reverted to form” and likewise has Carson done the same.

Chip, your answer is absolutely the right one. Brown was a clear and present danger and piddling around with him was life threatening. The officer who shot Brown did everyone a great service and I applaud him.

I’ll give you that a reporter asking a candidate if they would have shot MB is a stupid question. However, as a candidate, you have to recognize that for what it is–a “gotcha” designed to stir the pot–and know how to respond accordingly.

There are many citizens who when confronted with a charging thug would have
no problem blowing that person away. Face the facts; if Brown wasn’t “black”
there would have been no uproar, rioting and mayhem.

Yes, there is nothing like waiting for back up while you are getting pummeled in your vehicle by a giant of a man who wants only to kill you and take your weapon. Good answer there Doc. I’ll send you a dime so you can buy a clue.

Whaaaaaaaaat? Well IMO he seriously undermined his candidacy with that answer.

Pandering on this issue is outright wrong. No one, but BLM believes Wilson acted outside the scope of his duty, or his right to defend himself. One look at the GJ transcripts reveals that in addition to the forensic evidence, BLACK eyewitness accounts corroborated Wilson’s testimony.

Damn, this really, really, really makes me angry. The “if I had a son coalition,” couldn’t even get an indictment, and admitted in its report “hands up don’t shoot,” had zero basis in fact. Oh how that must of burned Holder et al.

Giving Carson a pass b/c this is a lose/lose question is the exact reason PC thought is ruining our country.

Why didn’t Carson just lead some group cheers in Ferguson with his hands in the air so they could all chant mindlessly “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!” ????? Maybe Carson could get some football players to help with the show.

To me, the choice is crystal clear, because they have told us what they will or will not do already. Anyone who supports Amnesty is unwilling to enforce “the law of the land”. Pure and simple.

WeaThey are breaking their Oath the minute they place their hands on the Bible, the one they all claim to revere, respect, and be students of, to take the Oath of Office.

I believe TRUMP will be attacked again on his faith during the debate. They’ve been setting it up all week. They will demand he quote a favorite verse, or some such nonsense. I think he should make it real easy on them and simply quote from the 10 Commandments:

“Thou shalt not steal.”

Follow it up with the fact that anyone not willing to uphold the laws of the land, and finally deport the Illegal Aliens, is, at the very least, stealing from law abiding Citizens of the USA. And that is the least of their crimes! These candidates would simply be an extension of The Oh?

“A government agency reveals that the nation’s most violent street gang has been energized by the barrage of illegal immigrant minors who have entered the U.S. through Mexico, confirming a Judicial Watch report last summer that gangs were actively recruiting members at shelters housing the new arrivals.

The tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, coined Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) by the government, came mostly from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. The Obama administration rolled out the welcome mat, quickly offering housing, food, medical treatment and a free education. The UACs have brought in dangerous diseases—including swine flu, dengue fever, Ebola virus and tuberculosis— and have occupied our military bases as shelters. Many have been disbursed throughout the U.S., igniting a crisis for overwhelmed public school districts nationwide.”

Well if he thought he would appear and take questions from the press in Ferguson without being asked about Brown, then he truly is naive
And I disagree you can’t defend the actions of the cop in the Michael Brown case. He did exactly his job, as it was supposed to be done. My opinion

Your opinion is matched by the grand jury and the Federal investigation which of course a lot of people down play. Obama sent a slew of feds in right away. He knew what happened, but he did nothing to change the BLM narrative.

In Scott’s defense his resting happy face is not really any different than his resting unhappy face it is simply the natural characteristic of his face.

Scott not doing well on the national stage is exactly what many here in WI predicted, Scott simply appears disinterested, Mark Belling always thought Scott would lose every election in WI because of Scott’s demeanor. People in WI got to see and know Scott on a more personal level and learn that he is a passionate guy, remember he is he man who didn’t cave to the GOP, to the DNC, to the Unions, to the onslaught of DC money pressure and the Hitleresque portrayal of him in all of the MSM.

Scott is the only governor to survive a recall, he is passionate and a conservative but Scott has the inability to articulate that passion and conservatism on the national stage, especially on multiple issues at the same time.

One point of Scott’s failure is that he has a philosophy that the public will only accept so much change at one time, that it has to come in increments which is why he didn’t campaign on Right to Work in his first campaign, Scott wanted to focus mainly on ousting the Teacher’s Union stranglehold on our sate and our economy. You simply can’t run on a national stage one large issue at a time.

I’ll never have anything bad to say about the moral character of Scott. He is simply in over his head on the national stage, and put his trust in the wrong places, his fear of putting too much on the plate is a losing proposition and his dependence on GOP money in the nail in the coffin.

IMO he will be a great friend of President Trump and an advocate of conservative issues as governor of WI.

Walker may drop out sooner rather than later and devote himself full time to governing Wisconsin he is a man on conscience and if he sees no possibility of being the nominee he will likely close that door.

Yeah I greatly admire what he has done in Wisconsin, so it is a weird disconnect when you see him in the national spotlight kind of shrink. And he was one of the candidates in the debate who never used his full time for each question, just cut it short. It looked and sounded so bad on TV! And they pay millions for this kind of “advice”

No question, Walker listened too to consultants and not enough to his gut. When he said he favored ethanol subsidies every Iowegean knew he was lying. He peaked at building a wall along Canadian border.

lorac – the Norwegians (and Danes) that came here 1890s-1919ish settled in Iowa as well as Minnesota. Scandinavian Days are still held every year. Is the only place I can still find some good lutfisk or lefsa (all my folks, still in Iowa, are Norwegian/Dane). Hence, Iowegean. Cheers! 🙂

They self deport when they realize that the pick up is random and that their stuff will be stolen or seized when they are in holding. They also loose jobs when crackdowns on employers start up and will leave. Various estimates are 50% to 75% self deports. Give states permission to start cutting off the freebies and life is no longer so great in the US. Crack down hard for identity theft with jail time and they self deport if they think they are heading to jail. Resolve anchor babies issues and that stops too. Anyone overstaying or misusing a visa is banned for life unless they leave now. Jeff Sessions knows you don’t have to deport them all by force and the remainder is manageable to get out. And secure the border to stop it at the root and all the running back and forth.

Something tells me the debate moderators think this will be a “gotcha question,” especially after Ramos’ stunt at that pressor, and his subsequent rants on every Cable network show. Carson has set up for the question as well. In the last few days he’s been telling voters it’s an impossible task.

Wait til Trump starts throwing out the welfare stats on illegals. Most have no clue, and they’re gonna be mad as hell when he informs them of the facts.

Here in SO CAL we know the welfare stats…. Anyone who goes to the grocery store knows the stats. Takes no study…. 3 women in line ahead of you have multiple baskets of food. They fumble with their cards and speak no English…EBT day at Vons.It takes a while to get through the line and outside there they are loading up multiple family groceries in their Ford 150 new pickups or suburbans.. They have about 7 kids between them and drive off with no insurance to the section 8 paradise up the street that looks like Guadalajara. barred windows and doors cause at night the gangs come out to sell dope and shoot at each other over graffiti tags. Ask anyone who lives around here if it’s true.

When others do not respond to or agree with a favored point, repeating it again and again doesn’t have useful value. And it’s a time-burner for mods who now have to determine if you want to participate in conversation or if you only want to force everyone to pretend to see things the way you see them. -Admin

If our existing laws are enforced (including e-verify), most will leave on their own accord. Maybe they could illegally immigrate next to Germany – for some strange reason the leaders want their culture to be destroyed.

Maybe consider changing your name to Dems and Reps B. Dcvrs?
I’m kind of being a dick here, but one of the foundations of The Treehouse for the few years I’ve been following it has been that one of the big lies that have helped screw over Conservative voters for years is that “those evil Dems” vs. our 1000% honest and trustworthy “conservative warriors” and their “conservative principles”, when in fact Republicans are just as dangerous and corrupt as Democrats.
We can’t take our country back by just beating the Dems, we must first beat the Republicans, as Trump is now doing…

Many people have the theory that polls are manipulated. Bush was being pushed out in front, and now Carson’s numbers might be being bolstered. Has anyone stopped to consider that Trump is being shoved down our throats too? The left might want him considering his recent support for Obama and Hillary and his “previous” liberal ideologies?
After spending a month in NH, and talking with Tea Party, Free Staters, DAV, and GOP group members, I am seeing a push to convince people to vote for who they think can win, rather than who they really think is best for the country.
I still doubt that Sen. Cruz would have gotten into the race knowing he didn’t have a chance to win. Just as numbers can be manipulated to show false leads, the numbers can also be used to show less support for those that are actually feared by the GOPe. The Establishment hates Sen. Cruz because he is a threat to the status quo.

Every election the establishment tries and push “who they think can win”. It’s like the don’t throw away your vote by going third party they throw around as well. They got their wish in the last two election and failed miserably. The republican establishment wants no part of Trump. They can’t control him and he doesn’t like to back down. I don’t think the left wants him either. That is why lefties I know are going ape ___ with sexism, racism, and big mouth smears. Nothing of substance. They are scared he might get the nomination. They are scared he might bring in people to vote for him that are tired of wages being depressed by illegals. Voters that are tired of all the money on non citizens when we are not taking care of our own citizens.

“I don’t think the left wants him either.”
That’s just it, many are just not sure. I can say unequivocally that the left hates Sen. Cruz, even the GOPe hates him. But how can we be sure with Trump, a man who can pick up the phone and have Hillary at his wedding? Who would want her there? Many explain away his connections to liberals with the excuse “it’s just good business”, but isn’t that the same as selling your soul for greed?

“I wonder if Walker understands that he has been destroyed politically …”

IMO: It is a mute point. We don’t need anymore Weather vane politicians.

This country desperately needs a strong Leader who says what he/she believes and stands by what he/she said. If things change, new facts come out, I can go with a candidate changing their thinking or position. But I can not go with flip-floppers or mealy mouths who change with winds of Political Correctness or Political Polling.

My opinion of Scott Walker has plummeted since he has entered this race.I really liked him before,because he was one of those rare Republicans that you see every blue moon or so who had backbone in standing up to the unions in 2011.After punt after punt,Scott Walker,can’t tell you whether he believes in evolution or creationism,much less why he wants to be president.What happened to that guy with the backbone that he showed in 2011?

Backbones seem to be in short supply among the current crop of wannabes (well, except for Trump). All of the standard-issue candidates come across as pandering fools, eager to take — and abandon — any position in the quest for votes. That’s especially true of those who are currently (or formerly) elected hacks.

I had Walker on my “reserve judgment” list because he, like Jindal, has no record in national politics. But he doesn’t seem to want to be President unless the job is given to him. Bush, too, apparently believes the job is his by right. Those currently in Congress are, to me, automatically disqualified because no one there is worth a damn.

I still wish Trump had the bearing and knowledge of, say, Goldwater or Reagan. But since he is the only one stand up straight in the spotlight and say what he believes (and is smart enough to know he can hire experts to provide the expertise he lacks), he’s the best we can do.

I have some of the same feelings about Trump as Mr. Scribbler. However, being around university-types for years and experiencing perfect intellectual phrasing and diction, but no heart unless it is for leftist causes, I welcome Trump with open arms for his patriotism, his commitment to what makes sense for everyday Americans. Secure the borders — can’t do anything without a sovereign country — and “create” jobs — let the market work with adequate refereeing — and unleashing energy sources responsibly. Decrease workers/budget in every government department — help millions of government workers find jobs in the private sector. We really are going to need some thoughtful transition.

I wish Sundance and others could identify financial/”political”/religious centers moving to basic support of Trump. E.g., if AGW is understood to be the most extensive scientific/government/academic fraud that it is, those who could make their fortunes opening up energy possibilities in this country could materialize and add weight to the movement. I think of California. Everything is tied up here for the elites. If their bony fingers could be pried loose, the golden state would vibrate economically once again. Drought? Pure stupidity with one of the longest coastlines of all the states and assured monster droughts every 500 years, or so. In fact, drought no longer must be one of those blights on Earth with present technology.

Trump keeps seizing on issues where he picks the popular side and the moneyed interests take the other side: amnesty, the Wall, hedge fund carried interest, lopsided trade deals, (soon) killing TPP. He’s already expressed skepticism about AGW – putting him (again) on the side of the majority. He needn’t object to the contention that there is warming – or that it’s influenced by man. He can simply say that even if there is man-influenced warming, he isn’t going to unilaterally disarm while China is erecting coal-fired power plants as fast as they can.

We hardly, disagree, pyro. We’re essentially putting the same basic thought into different contexts.

Goldwater, for example, was considered as much a loose cannon as Trump in 1964 (and ever after, comes to that). He, too, tended to speak his mind and not wait around to see if he could phrase his statements so they’d help him in the polls. But BMG didn’t spend a lot of time building up his own empire in a different field, as Trump has, and was clued-in to some of the important issues of his day. When it comes to patriotism, a sense of humor and common decency, I don’t think there’s much difference between them.

My sole reservation about Trump is entirely personal: after seven years of enduring the constant presence of Choom Boy in the media, after having listened to him pontificating, swaggering and generally acting like The Most Important Man in the Would (and don’t you ever forget it!), I’d like my next President to be a little more restrained and thoughtful. As well as a Constitution-respecting, America-loving patriot. We need that kind of change, I think.

Well, then Trump is the guy. There is nothing wrong the the President of the United States acting like what he is: The Most Important Man in the World (and don’t you forget it!) as long as he is so FOR AMERICA. See, Barry lived up to the MIMITWadyfi! but used it AGAINST AMERICA. At this point in time, even if we would prefer a quiet, reserved, and ‘silent but deadly’, we simply can not have a president like that if the World is to hear our roar of sincerity that WE ARE TAKING BACK our country and marking the red lines to not cross VERY loudly so as no mistake in interpreting our intentions and LEADERSHIP. Right now our country is bleeding from a main artery and we need someone to yell, scream, direct, “Get the F**/?$ bandages NOW! Get those tourniquets NOW.” Certainly, not the time to politely and quietly offer, “You, young man. What is your name? OK, Mr. Smith would you please go find me some bandages. Ok, you ma’am what can you do to help? Great! Now, before you do that could you tie off this leg right here? Oh, thank you kindly.”

You see, the first way offers the people to jump, jump, jump, and move faster and quicker and in sync with one another to save more life than would be saved in the second scenario. So, you wishes are fine but now just may not be the moment in our history for such. I, too, long for the day when there is less hype and urgency and loudness in our presidency but for now, it is realized we need someone yelling, “Holy Batman! Shazaam!”

Great posting and you are 100% correct. People forget that this country
is in deep trouble. And off topic, however, relevant – everyone is worried that
the Iran deal will give them nukes to use against Israel – well they are wrong;
Iran already has short range weapons to use against Israel; they want the
bomb to use against the US! Wake up! This is not an election, it is war!

Carson said he would have waited for backup before having the altercation.
(Michael Brown initiated the “altercation”–not Darren Wilson)

When asked if he would have shot Brown if he were in Wilson’s shoes, Carson said: “It’s hard to say. I probably, knowing who he was, I probably just would have arrested him.”
(Does Carson understand that MB had already assaulted Wilson,and was physically larger and stronger?)

“I heard more than one time how the thing that really inflamed the community was the fact that Michael Brown’s body laid out on the street for four hours,” Carson said.
(Brown’s body laid in the street a normal amount of time, considering that this was a murder investigation AND that the lives of the investigators were at risk when shots were heard on THREE separate occasions)

… that indicate he either:

1) Isn’t at all familiar with the facts of the case (misinformation in the media that led him to the wrong conclusions)

2) Is overly sympathetic to the “black community” (or trying to garner votes in that same community)

3) Lives in a state of denial about what he would do in a life threatening situation (or is being intentionally deceitful for the same reason as in #2)

It would be easy for me to pass judgement on him, based on that one single interview if it was clear that he had any true familiarity with the facts but that’s not completely evident. It could very well be that he simply doesn’t know the “ins and outs” of what happened, and was caught in a “gotcha” moment. BUT, if that’s the case, he should have just said as much, rather than 2nd guess Darren Wilson, and in doing so undermine (rather than support) our nation’s police.

IF I was a reporter who had a chance to interview him at length, this is a point that I would pursue in great depth. Does Carson really support the police (and law and order) or is he just another “enabler” of the BGI? His answers seem to indicate the latter, IMO.

“There is one very big difference between Trump and many of his GOP detractors. When Trump “fights” his insults and attacks are aimed at people his own size. I’m not saying he’s right or wrong, but those he does go after, including Jonah, Macy’s, Univision, Fox News, Carly Fiorina, Rosie O’Donnell, Megyn Kelly, etc. are The Powerful — individuals and institutions with large platforms and megaphones who can fight back.

At the very least, Trump punches within his own weight class.

Contrast that with those among the anti-Trump GOP elite who rip into The Powerless. Chris Christie yells at teachers. Rick Perry accused the GOP base of being heartless on the issue of the border. I’m now losing count of those among the Republican elite who have — in writing and on television — attacked the everyday people in our own base — Trump supporters — as racist or nativist or unthinking rubes, or some variation of that.

Trump has plenty of nasty supporters who insult Those Who Dare Not Support Trump. But these are everyday people on social media, not high-profile Thought Leaders among the Commentariat. I know of no high-profile Trump supporter insulting and hurling insults at the everyday voters voting for someone other than Trump.

That may be why his numbers went up after hounding McCain in spite of the “captured” remark. McCain is notorious for belittling and name-calling grass roots. Seeing Trump stick up for them gave them heart, IMO.

Carson moving up nicely, within easy, single-digit striking distance of Trump in both Iowa and New Hampshire, should pass Trump soon. Looking forward to some really inventive narratives when Trump is surpassed not by a “Vichy-GOPe-RINO,” but by someone who is as much an outsider as he is.

Dream On ….It simply isn’t going to happen. Black “identity politics” reinforced by white guilt are a “been there, done that” painful HISTORY LESSON which the voters have learned from Obama, and as a result any black presidential candidate has a snowball’s chance in hell of being elected for maybe the next hundred years.

SD kicks ass and takes no prisoners. When I first came around here and landed on a branch I had no idea things would turn out like this. Amazing. The truth seems like it slowly seeps out and works its magic. It has been a few years but now it seems to be making a diff. Even though I am a Black Sheep I love it. GO SUNDANCE CRACKER. This seems apropo. Hi Yo Silver!

After listening to multiple discussions on the topic, labels of Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Tea Party member, Liberal, Right-Winger, Left-Winger, Moderate, etc. have taken on lives of their own. Depending on area of the country and hour of the day, the definition can differ remarkably.

Perhaps, it is better to go by topic. Are you for amnesty for present illegals? Are you for anchor babies? Are you for a minimum wage? Are you for adding to the national debt? Are you for Right to Work? And so forth…specifics vs. umbrella classifications that have become meaningless.

Trump has chosen to run as a Republican as our system now requires one to run under the two-party system, but he seems to emphasize stating positions vs. allowing the voter to presume what that label means. Frankly, I have no idea whether or not my definition of a Conservative matches the one many of you at The Treehouse adopt. I know a number of the pundits calling themselves Conservatives share few of my concerns.

Walker fought an extraordinary battle with the unions, which attracted my attention because it impacted so many parts of Wisconsin’s economy. Trump has managed to expand his battle arena globally, issue by issue, to attract large segments of voters regardless of how they label their political party. We’ll see how that works out as the months go by.